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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ
ʜɪɴᴅᴍᴏsᴛ ꒱


❝ YOU CAME TO KILL
THE DEVIL, RIGHT? ❞

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"I understand your moral objects to what the T.V.A. does," He Who Remains continued after a brief pause, "and my methods are deceptive. But the mission, it never was. Without the me, without the T.V.A.. . . everything burns."

"Then what are you so afraid of?" Loki asked.

The man sat in a momentary silence as he thought of his answer before replying, "me."

"And just who are you?" Sylvie wondered.

"Oh, I've been dubbed many names by many people." He stood from his chair to pace around it. "A ruler, a conqueror. He Who Remains, a jerk." He resumed his seat. "But it's. . . it's not as simple as a name."

The man touched a finger to the device on his wrist and it glowed a light orange as he spun the screen around. A small glob-like substance jumped out and took shape as he spoke, "eons ago, before the T.V.A., a variant of myself lived on Earth in the thirty-first century. He was a scientist and he discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own. At the same time, other versions of us were learning the same thing. Naturally, they made contact. And for a while, there was peace."

The image formed of two men, one walking through a rectangular doorway much like the T.V.A.'s portals before the figures greeted each other. "Narcissistic, self-congratulatory peace. 'I love your shoes,' ' I love your hair,' 'oh, man, I love your nose.' 'Thanks, man,' et cetera. They shared technology and knowledge, using the best of their universes to improve the others." He took another bite of his half-eaten apple. "However, not every version of me was so. . . so pure of heart. To some of us, new worlds meant only one thing— new lands to be conquered."

A man holding the world formed out of the substance, explaining his words. "The peace between realities. . ." He used both hands as he demonstrated an explosion. ". . .erupted into an all-out war, each variant fighting to preserve their universe and annihilate the others. This was almost the end, ladies and gentlemen, of everything and everyone."

"And then the Time-Keepers came along and saved us all," Sylvie guessed bitterly.

The man in front of them imitated church-like singing, though the action was almost mocking as he added, "no, no. Nope, this is where we diverge from the dogma. That first variant encountered a creature created from all the tears in reality, capable of consuming time and space itself. A creature you both know—"

"Alioth," Loki supplied.

"Bingo! I harnessed the beast's power and began experimenting on it—"

As the man continued to speak, Jimin came to a decision: she didn't like him. Unable to get a read on him, she didn't know if his words were the truth or not. No matter what they were, though, they were arrogant and self-applauding. He was very, very boastful and she would be surprised if he'd been expecting them to give congratulations on his achievements.

She couldn't resist the slight roll of her eyes as he climbed on top of his desk to enunciate his point, rather bored by the showmanship of it all.

". . .hence, you're welcome," he finished, crouched in front of them. "You came to kill the devil, right?" The man jumped off the desk. "Well, guess what? I keep you safe. And, if you think I'm evil, well, just wait 'till you meet my variants." There was a pause. "And that's the gambit. Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos. You may hate the dictator but something. . ." He let out a breath. ". . .far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him. I've lived a million lifetimes. I've gone through every scenario. This is the only way. The T.V.A., it works."

"Or," Sylvie suggested, "you're a liar."

The man slouched on his desk, resting his head on his desk as he chuckled. "Or I'm liar."

Jimin frowned. "I. . . can't tell. Usually I can."

"Oh, I know," he said, his tone amused. "You must be very frustrated right now."

"So you just. . . continue to prune innocent timelines?" the god's question came out slowly.

"Mmm-hmm. You two would." He gestured to the Lokis. "There's two options! One, you kill me and destroy all this, so you don't just have one devil, you have an infinite amount. Or. . . you two. You two run the thing."

"Two?" the Asian woman asked again.

He pointed to her. "You have never been interested in ruling. You're content with living in a box, whatever label you might give it. Hence, two."

"You're lying," Loki accused him. "Why would you give up being in control?"

He sighed. "Buddy. . . I'm tired. . . and I'm older. I'm older than I look. This game is for the young, the hungry. I've gone through a lot of scenarios, trying to find the right person to take this spot. It turns out that person came in two, but it's definitely you two. So, no more lies. You kill me and the Sacred Timeline is completely exposed, multiversal war. Or, you take over and return to the T.V.A. as its benevolent rulers. You could tell the workforce who they are and why they do what they do."

"And what's in it for me?" Jimin questioned him.

"Whatever you'd like," the man responded airily. "You could become the T.V.A.'s top agent as you worked for your organization, or I could make true on my deal and return you to a timeline that benefits you. That's the beauty of never wanting to make big waves. It gives you a lot more. . . flexibility."

"You treated real people's lives like some kind of game," Sylvie said lowly, her tone accusatory.

"It's not personal, it's practical."

"It was personal to me. "

The man groaned. "Grow up! Grow up, Sylvie! Murderer! Hypocrite! We're all villains here, in some capacity—"

"I—" Jimin started.

"You," he interrupted her mockingly. "You, you, you. You're not without blood on your hands, pretender. While you claim your work is for a noble cause, you still take lives. You still kill. We're all villains here," he repeated. "We've all done horrible, terrible, horrific things. But now, we— you— have a chance to do them for a good reason. That, perhaps, is why you should stay with the T.V.A.." He nodded to the agent.

Distant rumbling sounded outside of the circular window as the man paused, several minutes of silence stretching out before them.

"We just crossed. . . the threshold." Jimin frowned at the man's strange— stranger— behavior until he continued, "so, I fibbed. I fibbed earlier when I said I know how everything's going to go. I know. . . I knew. . . everything up to a certain point, and that point was about seven, eight, nine, ten seconds ago."

His words were greeted with silence as the Asian woman's eyes moved to the pane of glass where, outside, the silver-white timeline could be seen. A sense of foreboding washed over her as she saw similarly-colored branches begin to split off, a visual representation of the multiverses that were forming.

"But now I have no idea, no idea how the rest of this is going to go. I'm being candid."

"So that's it?" the Asgardian asked. "That's it? This is what happens at the end of time? And now you're just gonna sit there with all that freedom and. . . let us decide your fate?"

"Yes!" he responded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes! What's the worst that can happen? You either. . . take over and my life's work continues or you plunge a blade into my chest and an infinite amount of me starts another multiversal war and I just. . . end up right back here anyways. Reincarnation, baby."

"No. It's just another lie, another manipulation," Sylvie shifted her blade in her lap as she spoke.

"Oh. No lie. No manipulation." There was another distant rumble of thunder as he quieted again.

". . .Wow. I love this. I love. . . all this honesty." He reached across his desk and placed the TemPad on the surface, his arm stretched out in front of him. "Feels like a fresh start."

There was a pause of no movement before the goddess launched forward, aiming her blade directly at the man. Jimin's eyes followed the motion as she remained in her chair while Loki scrambled to stop the woman from completing her goal. She whirled around to face him, her blade to his chest. "What're you doing?"

"Hang on a moment. Let's just talk about it—" he protested as they backed away from the table.

"Well, how about we finish what we started and kill him?" Sylvie pushed past him, throwing herself forward.

Loki used magic to grab an invisible rope and pull her backward, grunting as she tried to escape. As he released her, their swords clashed together as their differing views turned into a full-out fight.

"What if he's telling the truth."

"So what?"

"I believe him."

"Believe what?" she demanded. "That a bazillion boogeyman will turn up just because we give people free will? He's a liar, Loki."

"So am I and I don't think he was lying, not about that," he insisted. "Insane? Yes, but maybe he was telling the truth."

"Better hurry!" the man called to them. "Timeline's already branching."

Jimin eyed him thoughtfully. "I wonder if, in one of those timelines, I kill you. Maybe I'm more of a threat than you think. After all, you didn't know how this would play out."

"But people are also predictable," the man replied as the Sylvie and Loki continued to argue, "and you, Hui Jimin, are perhaps the most predictable of them all. While you may have killed, it was never for personal gain, as killing me would be. Therefore, in every single one of those timelines, you are no threat to me." He resumed watching the Lokis.

"I know the T.V.A. has hurt us both," the Asgardian was saying, "but what if by taking him out, we risk unleashing something even worse? All I'm suggesting is we just take a minute to think about it. I promise you from my heart this isn't about a throne."

"What was I thinking, trusting you? Has this whole thing been a con?"

"Really? That's what you think of me. . . after all this time? Sure, why not? Evil Loki's master plan comes together. Well, you never trusted me, did you? What was the point? Can't you see? This is bigger than our experience."

"Why aren't we seeing this the same way?" Sylvie asked.

"Because you can't trust," Loki answered simply, "and I can't be trusted."

"Then I guess we're in a pickle."

"Sylvie, wait— wait—"

The blonde woman didn't listen and instead chose to thrust her blade towards him, forcing the god to parry her attack. Jimin and He Who Remained watched the fight, the man's expression fascinated as his eyes stayed trained on the pair. The Asian woman was more apprehensive, unwilling to get in the middle of a personal battle— even with S.H.I.E.l.D., she had never taken sides with any of her arguing coworkers.

Sylvie used a burst of green magic to throw Loki against a wall of books and the god grunted as he fell to the ground. She turned and stalked towards the man, completely ignoring Jimin as she made for her destination. Loki pushed himself off the floor and with an emerald light, pulled a shelf from the wall that caused her to lose her balance and fall.

The agent used her feet to push her chair back as they approached the desk, swords clashing together as the Asgardian fought against the blonde. He tried desperately to get through to her: "maybe he's lying! Maybe he's not. The cost of getting this wrong is too great."

"Fine, do it. Kill me, take your throne," she snapped.

"No. . ."

Their fight resumed, neither of them willing to give up. Sylvie gained the upper hand that earned her a break, her attention immediately returning to the man behind their desk. She wasted no time in running towards him, her blade held aloft— only for Loki to appear before her. He was trapped between the woman and the table but let his weapon drop as he attempted to calm her. "Sylvie— Sylvie— stop." He remained unperturbed by her sword at his neck. "Stop. I've been where you are. I've felt what you feel. Don't ask me how I know. All I know is I don't wanna hurt you. I don't want a throne. I just. . ." He sighed. "I just want you to be okay."

As her sword slid to the ground, Jimin rose from her chair, the pause in their combat more concerning than their actual fighting. Loki let his guard fall, allowing her to turn them around so she was against the desk. His concern for her caused him to soften, though her words weren't what he wanted to hear. ". . .but I'm not you."

A golden portal appeared behind him, but before Jimin could call out a warning, a flash of magic sent him flying through, a second one forcing her to follow him in rapid succession.

✧✧✧

The brunette landed sloppily, not expecting the blow as she slid across the floor. Loki was already on his feet as he raced for the portal, only for it to close before he could go through. Jimin tensed as she felt a hand on her are. "Are you alright?"

She lifted her head and glowered at him slightly. "I don't even know what day it is anymore. No, I'm not alright." Begrudgingly, she accepted his help to stand. "The question you wanted to ask was 'are you hurt' and the answer is no, I'm not." She shook off his hand and brushed herself off. "I can't say that that was entirely unexpected. She is you, after all." Jimin straightened. "Right then, what's next?"

Loki stared at her. What's next? Even he didn't know. He supposed she was right— Sylvie's betrayal was to be anticipated. Still, he couldn't stop the sting or the feeling that she'd abandoned them. It had been nice, working as a team, working as equals—something he wasn't used to and had been getting familiar with. Having it all yanked away in a matter of seconds after everything they'd been through was jarring in the simplest of terms.

With a sigh, he sat on the step and folded his hands over his legs, his head bent slightly. Jimin joined him only a moment later.

✧✧✧

After they'd taken a few moments to themselves, the pair exited the room and ran through the (unfortunately) familiar halls of the T.V.A.. Soldiers raced past them in every direction as they attempted to rectify the multiverses' extension.

Loki and Jimin paused on the balcony where Mobius first showed them the organization's inner workings on a day that felt like a lifetime ago, taking in the almost hectic new feel of the T.V.A.. They didn't stop long and hurried onward, making for the library where they'd searched for clues on the Variant.

As they rounded one of the rows, Mobius and Hunter B-15 stood against the railing. The man was speaking: "that's what, sixty-three new branches in this unit alone?"

"Does he want us to just let them all branch?" she asked.

"At this point, how are we gonna stop it?"

"We can't!" Loki exclaimed, interrupting them.

"What? What'd you say?"

The god strode forward with Jimin following quickly behind. "It's done, Mobius. We made a terrible mistake."

"What's done?" the Hunter questioned them.

"We freed the timeline," he explained. "We found him beyond the storm, a Citadel at the End of Time. He's terrifying. He planned everything. He's seen everything. He knows everything. It's complicated, okay? But someone is coming, countless versions of a very dangerous person and they're all set on war. We need to prepare—"

"Take it easy," Mobius said, his voice calm. "You're an analyst, right? What division are you from?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Who are you?" he asked. "What's your name?"

Loki stared at him in horror as Jimin's expression became unimpressed. "Now isn't the time for jokes, Mobius. I thought—"

Her voice trailed off as her attention caught on something much, much worse. The brunette stared at the statue that stood in front of the elevator— though it wasn't of the three space lizards she'd last seen in the same position. Her blood turned icy as the true consequences of their actions made themselves known. Unthinkingly, her hand reached out to grasp Loki's arm, catching his own notice as she raised a hand to point at the terribly familiar statue of a man. ". . .look."

A/n: and that's a wrap! I hope you've enjoyed learning about Jimin during season one. Season two will probably come out in two years so I'll pick up the story then. For now, I'm going to leave it on 'completed' and take it off once the new season airs. If you liked my writing, please check out my profile! I have more Marvel-related works planned for the future (they aren't published yet) and several other stories that I'm working on or have completed.

Thank you for your support and I hope to see you in the next act!